Microencapsulation of Myrtus Communis Extracts in Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Cells: Effects on Phenolic Content and Antioxidant Capacity, Physical Characterization and Molecular Docking Analysis.

This study investigated the effects of microencapsulating Myrtus communis fruit extracts within intact and plasmolysed Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast cells on the phenolic compounds and antioxidant capacity of the extracts. Spectroscopic techniques were employed to quantify polyphenols, flavonoids, and tannins, while UPLC-ESI-MS-MS analysis was utilized to identify and quantify phenolic compounds before and after microencapsulation. Molecular docking was conducted to assess the interaction between yeast cell components and the major identified compounds. Microencapsulation was found to result in a diminished content of polyphenols, flavonoids, and tannins. Phenolic compounds showed higher polyphenol content when encapsulated in plasmolysed cells compared to non-plasmolysed yeast cell. Three major compounds were detected in the microcapsules: myricetin, chlorogenic acid, and coumaric acid, with myricetin exhibiting the highest level of interaction with target proteins. FTIR analysis revealed the interaction between phenolic compounds and yeast cell components, while SEM showed aggregation of microcapsules within plasmolysed microcapsules. Encapsulation of myrtle extract in yeast cells preserved cell wall integrity and microcapsule morphology, with superior thermal stability of encapsulated extracts compared to their non-encapsulated counterparts as demonstrated by TGA–DSC analysis. An enhancement in antioxidant activity after encapsulation was also observed, with the highest activity in plasmolysed yeast cell microcapsules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]